Building Rural Health and Supporting Small Scale Agriculture:

A Comparative Case study ofFarm‐to‐School Activity inMaine and Nova Scotia

Chloe KennedyRural Research Workshop

May 5th 2011

Farm Visits

Direct Sale of Local Food to Schools

School Gardens

Farm-to-School in the USA

Farm-to-School in Canada

NS Provincial Policy Response:

http://www.ednet.ns.ca/healthy_eating/pdf/school_food_consultation_draft.pdf

Food and Nutrition Policy for Nova Scotia Public Schools

NS Provincial Policy Response:

Research Questions

• What are the barriers and opportunities which face Tatamagouche elementary school in its efforts to procure greater amounts of locally produced food?

• What resources (financial/infrastructural/human) are required for the success of the Hancock County Farm-to-School program? What is the role of the key stakeholders in facilitating the program?

• Does the Hancock County Farm-to-School program provide insight for how to overcome the challenges faced in Tatamagouche? If so, how?

The negative comparative method attempts to find independent variables associated with divergent outcomes (Kolberg, 2005).

Primary Barriers

• Budget Constraints

• Structural Constraints

• Lack of Knowledge and Communication

• School Food Policy Context

Community Assets

• Openness to Buying Local

• Interest in Third Party Involvement

• Connection Between Schools and Communities

• Proximity of Farms and Schools

“...how does the farming community in Tatamagouche link with the catering societyand create that link and provide [the school] with what [it] needs all within the required food safety standards. We need to make that work”.

“I have a farming background anyway, so I’m biased...I think by having that connection [between farms and schools], it’s going to give a greater sense of community... It’s always great to support your local folks as opposed to sending your money elsewhere. So I think that if people saw that going into the schools, it would definitely be a positive thing”.

FACILITATION

• Contracts established between head food service staff and the local farm/continued dialogue between farms and schools

• Weekly deliveries from the farmers

HUMAN RESOURCES

• Student involvement in food preparation

• Community/parent volunteers

• Staff volunteer time

FUNDS

• Creative purchasing practices

• Community food and time donations

• Grants through government and private foundations

How the Program Works

Mount Desert Elementary School

Policy Recommendations• Third Party Involvement to:

- fund a public meeting to bring together stakeholders - farm-to-school coordinator position to facilitate connections between

interested schools and farms- better knowledge of what local food is available locally

• Government facilitation to help create regional resource guides for interested parties

• Third Party Involvement to:- fund a public meeting to bring together stakeholders - facilitate connections between interested schools and farms- better knowledge of what local food is available locally

• Government and private facilitation to help create regional resource guides for interested parties

• Increased student involvement in schools meals- student cooking club - taste testing- farms visits

Policy Recommendations

Acknowledgements